Atheros 802.11g Chipset Delivers High Data Rates to Vivato's Large-Venue Indoor Customers

NETWORLD+INTEROP, LAS VEGAS, May 11, 2004 – Atheros Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATHR), a leading developer of advanced wireless LAN (WLAN) chipsets, and Vivato, a leading provider of wireless networking equipment, announced today that Vivato's recently introduced Indoor Wi-Fi Base Station, the VP2200, uses the Atheros AR5002G chipset. The new product combines a high-performance WLAN chipset from Atheros and Vivato's smart antennae technology to significantly increase the Wi-Fi coverage area for a wide range of network environments.

The VP2200 lowers the overall cost of deploying large coverage area Wi-Fi networks in warehouses, retail stores, shopping malls; university auditoriums, libraries and cafeterias; airport terminals, train stations and bus terminals; hotels and resorts; stadiums and arenas; convention centers and exhibition halls; and museums and military barracks. The Vivato VP2200 Indoor Wi-Fi Base Station will be displayed in the Atheros NetWorld+Interop booth, #2801, from May 11-13.

The Atheros AR5002G chipset, which is integrated into the base station, delivers high data transfer rates up to 54 Mbps, compliant with the IEEE's 802.11g standard. Additionally, the VP2200 can achieve high data rates while covering up to 12 times the area of a typical industrial grade access point. The Atheros chipset enables the VP2200 to be backward compatible with any 802.11b-compliant device. It also supports the latest WLAN security standards, including Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and 802.11i Enhanced Security using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) in hardware.

"Atheros' WLAN chipset technology is complementary to Vivato's innovative designs and smart antennae technology," said Colin Macnab, vice president of marketing and business development for Atheros. "We are pleased to work with Vivato in bringing to market a high performance and secure solution."

"Vivato is enabling next-generation large-scale WLAN deployments that deliver superior performance with far fewer Wi-Fi devices using advanced smart antenna technology," said Siavash Alamouti, chief technology officer for Vivato. "Atheros is providing a key component to our new high rate 802.11g extended Wi-Fi solution. We value our close dealings with a technology leader such as Atheros and look forward to working with them on future products."

About Vivato

Vivato is a provider of networking equipment for complete wireless broadband solutions. Vivato's technology is based upon an innovative signal processing and antenna design. Vivato's unique system architecture enables cost-effective, large-scale indoor and outdoor wireless deployments at hotels, airports, seaports, warehouses, universities, and in cities and towns. Vivato is headquartered in San Francisco, with a research and development center in Spokane, Wash. For more information, please visit www.vivato.net or call 866-802-1600.

About Atheros Communications, Inc.

Atheros Communications is a leading developer of semiconductor system solutions for wireless communications products. Atheros combines its wireless systems expertise with high-performance radio frequency (RF), mixed signal and digital semiconductor design skills to provide highly integrated chipsets that are manufacturable on low-cost, standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes. Atheros technology is being used by a broad base of leading customers, including personal computer and networking equipment manufacturers. For more information, visit www.atheros.com or send email to info@atheros.com.

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Atheros and the Atheros logo are trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including the features, performance and benefits of Atheros' and Vivato's products and technology, and the future relationship of Atheros and Vivato, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products and technological advances, manufacturing difficulties, difficulties in development of enhanced and new products, the companies' ability to market and ship in volume, the companies' ability to work together on future products, and other risks detailed in Atheros' Prospectus dated February 11, 2004 as filed with the SEC and from time to time in Atheros' SEC filings. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Atheros disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.